Bead Table Wednesday -- My Mind's a Blank But My Table's Not

Earlier today, as I was driving Over the Bridge to do some shopping, I had all these clever ideas for a blog post racing through my mind.


That was ten hours ago, and I can't remember a single one of them.  Other than the one where I feel giddy and excited every time I walk into a Whole Foods because it makes me feel so grown up.  No, really!  It wasn't until I was 30 that I had either the money or the knowledge of a (largely) organic grocery store, so walking into one makes me feel like, "I have ARRIVED!" (throw your arms wide and be very Broadway-dramatic about it when you say it).  Thirty was a very pivotal year.  But I'll write more about that on my 42nd birthday next month.  So stay tuned. 

While Over the Bridge, I paid a trip to Paper Source to buy a ton of cards for my Pay It Forward project.  I can never leave that store without ten times what I meant to buy.  I nabbed Christmas cards to make for next year, Valentines for Zack's class for next year, and a ton of awesome cards to mail out in the coming month.

Other than those two things, my mind's a blank, so thank goodness it's Bead Table Wednesday!


I'm not going to show you my actual work mat, because that would ruin the Cup of Bead Soup surprise that will be posted soon (hopefully tomorrow!), but I'm going to show you three things that are ALWAYS on my work table no matter what.


First, there's my handy dandy tool caddy.  This is actually a desk organizer I found at TJMaxx.  I looooove me some TJMaxx, Marshalls, and Ross.  I've learned to look at things not for what they are, but for what they could be.

What have we here?

Lindstrom RX tools, beading wire, tiny tins of oxidized jump rings (bigger tins of regular sterling rings are below the open drawer), a plastic box of plain spacer beads and a plastic box of ear wires; a calculator to figure up the cost of a piece of jewelry, seed beads to fill the holes of lampwork beads (so they don't wobble on the beading wire); a box full of bags of various types of head pins, a box of hand-cut earring cards and hole punches; super-glue, chapstick, and alligator clips.

Exciting.  Whee.  Strike up the band. 

But as mundane as that photo is, it's the powerhouse of the whole operation, isn't it?  Our money is spent on just the right tools, since our hands must be treated well, and we couldn't make anything without beading wire and headpins (don't get me started on my wire drawer).  So boring to look at -- yes.  Exciting possibilities -- oh yeah, baby.

Now, the chaos.

This tray was originally a silverware tray from IKEA -- another thing I looked at and said, "No, you're supposed to be this."  This is where I keep things I use all the time -- big bags of certain ear wires and daisy spacers, for instance -- as well as my Lonely Hearts Club orphan tin (with the purple flower on it) and a plastic tub of random single art beads.  It's also where I dump things that keep me a little crazy ... bags of beads I know I want to work with but  ....

1. I don't want to put them away because I'll forget I have them, or
2. I know I'll use them soon so I'll just. stick them. right. there.

You know how it is.  


That tray is on the left side of my work area.  On the right side I have these cute little monsters:

These guys were made for me by a wonderful artist and friend I met on the craft show circuit, Ayenne of Whimsee Pots/AvivaArts. I just walked around the house and counted ten pieces of her work, NOT including these, so you can safely say I'm a fan.  The small one holds my silver scrap and the large one holds bits of paper trash and such.   


(Note:  If you're not saving your sterling silver scrap -- holy cow, man, you're throwing money away!  That little cup was about 3/4 full when I turned in my scrap three weeks ago to Rio Grande, and I got over $300 in store credit for it.  So save that stuff!)

Behind the cup is a boro glass pen holder with a pen I adorned with a fabric rose, a bracelet sizer, and a bowl filled with various sizes of plastic bags.  I store all my jewelry in those little plastic bags because when sterling silver and air get together, the sulfur in the air reacts with the silver to create tarnish.  If I store things in those oh-so-glamorous baggies, I don't have to constantly be cleaning things.

OK!  More than you ever cared to see or want to know about where I spend my mornings!  Thanks for following along on the tour (or did I lose you back there at the pink typewriter?)

 

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.  She's also a contributor to Art Bead Scene.